The Equinox (9 page)

“I
guess not,” he says. “What was more interesting was the wave that almost
drowned you. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

My
eyes face forward. I don’t turn to him but I nod. “That whole night was
strange.” And then I leave it at that. What more can I say?
I created that wave, with my magic. Alec, I’m a descendant of the
ancient Greek Goddess, Astina Somer.

Alec’s
movements force my eyes to reach his. He’s flipping around in his tube so his
back faces the sun and he peers up at me. I do the same, smiling back at him
now as our tubes connect by Alec’s tight grip on the ropes. With a swift move
he’s untied one knot, and then another, and he’s tying them together so that
our tubes connect indefinitely.

The
air around us is still. Sounds from the woods are pounding in my ears as birds
chirp, and insects scurry through the woods. I can hear it all above my
thumping chest.

“I’m
glad you didn’t drown, and I’m glad you’re talking to me again.” He grins so
that I know he’s teasing. “Are you ready for your audition tomorrow?”

“I’m
not sure it’s possible to prepare, but I’ll hope for the best.” I look back into
his eyes of green and gold, such an interesting color. There’s something so
exciting yet nerve-racking about being this close to him.

“Do
you have experience?” He asks, curiously. I shake my head. “Well, the trick is
to just flash your pretty smile, and if you forget anything just offer them
something for free.”

“Good
advice,” I grin. “Everyone loves free stuff. I can do that.”

He
kicks his feet, pushing us further down the river. As he does this, he looks
over my shoulder and I look too. The rest of our group winds around the next bend.
It feels as if we’ve got the entire river to ourselves.

“You
aren’t afraid of anything, are you, Summer Girl?”

I
laugh and turn back to Alec. “Why do you say that?” I think I’m afraid of a
lot—a lot more than I can tell Alec about anyway.

He
shrugs. “You don’t seem to let fear get in your way, is all. When you moved
here you were different. I remember those big, scared, silver-blue eyes, but yet
you weren’t needy for friendships. I could tell there was something deeper in you
that you were holding back. Now, it’s like you’ve tossed away your insecurities
and you’re just—you.”

Is
he complimenting me? I think he is. The look on his face is one of fascination.
He’s smiling at me and pulling himself in closer. Before I know what’s
happening our lips lock and I slam my eyes shut, wanting to savor every second.
Our first kiss was so rudely interrupted.

At
first I’m afraid he can feel the erratic pulse of my blood pumping through my
veins, and then I don’t care anymore. Alec is hot—and he’s kissing me.

To
my disappointment, he pulls away a second later, but he’s smiling. “We are
doing this all backwards.” He kicks harder, sending us downriver.

Oh
no. Maybe he isn’t into me.

“We
should go on a date.”

A date.
It’s like my pulse is on a roller
coaster ride.

The
closest I’ve been to dating anyone is watching romantic comedies with my mom. To
go on one with Alec is a dream. “I’d like that. What would we do?”

He grins.
At first I wonder if he’s laughing internally at me. I’m clearly inexperienced
when it comes to boys and dating.

He
shrugs now. “We could go to a movie if you want, or dinner. Or we could do
both.”

An
entire night, just Alec and me with the possibility of more kissing. Nothing
sounds better. I smile. “Okay.”

“I’ll
pick you up tomorrow, after your shift.”

“I
get off at four.”

“Perfect.”
His white teeth sparkle in the sun and my heart does another flip flop.

There
are loud shrieks and screams coming from down river and I turn to see Trisha
flying from a rope swing into a deeper section of the river. I laugh as my
inner Enchanter yearns to feel the rush of flying through the air.

Alec
and I reach the group and hop out of our tubes. He takes mine and sets them off
to the side against some bushes. We race up the large tree branch; Alec goes
first and I watch the fluid movements as he climbs, his back muscles expanding
and contracting, his athletic nature is evident by his effortless actions.

He
reaches the rope and grips it from as high up as he can, and then throws
himself into the air. He waits until he’s over the deepest part of the river
before letting go and hooting into the air. We all laugh as he crashes into the
water, creating a huge splash.

It’s
my turn next and I follow his path to the end of the thick branch. It feels
rough and sturdy against my bare feet. My pulse is already speed racing at the
thought of swinging through the air. I grab hold of the grainy dirt-white rope
and take a deep breath before throwing myself out over the water. When I let go
over I hear the cheers of my friends behind me and I can’t keep the grin from
my face.

I
toss myself out farther than I mean to but the water is still deep. I go in
toes first and shoot my arms up over my head.

The
water feels good on my warmed skin, and when I open my eyes underwater I can
see turtles swimming down-current and schools of fish racing past them. I touch
sand at the bottom of the river and smile at the sight before me, pretending
for just one second that I’m one of the mermaid goddesses who spend most of
their days like this.

As I
come up for air, Matt is flying into the water beside me. I laugh and swim back
to the others for another turn. When I lift myself onto land, Trisha stands
there adjusting her bathing suit. She looks as if she’s getting ready to go for
another jump.

“So
what was keeping you and Alec back there?” Trisha teases, causing my cheeks to
flame.

“Just
talking.” I know I don’t sound convincing. I don’t mean to.

“Sure,”
she grins. “You know Ava is interested in him, right?”

I
feel my insides grow dense at the news. I think I already knew that but to hear
it makes it frustratingly real.

“I
think you two make a much better pair,” Trisha adds quickly. “But I thought I’d
warn you. Now that Iris is out of the picture, Ava has made her claim. It looks
like those two got pretty close after the fire.”

I
make a face. “I didn’t know that, but it doesn’t matter. If he liked her,
wouldn’t he be trying to spend time with her?” I don’t mean to come off rude
but I probably do. How can someone make a claim to something that isn’t theirs?

Trisha
giggles. “True. He seems to really like you.”

The rope
swing is free, and Trisha runs toward it for her turn with Ava right behind her.

Alec
steps out of the water just then and pulls me deeper into the woods until we
are masked by a large trunk of a tree. He leans back against it and places his
hands on my waist to pull me toward him. I stumble into him, our bodies crushed
together. I stare shakily into his eyes at first, but the way he looks back at me,
with such intensity, I feel like I might crumble. My nerves dissolve into pure
joy.

He
slides his arms tighter around me and leans down, touching his lips to mine. I
feel the familiar warmth of his lips and sink into him, allowing my body to go
limp. His strong arms steady me so that I’m focused only on him, but this kiss
is different from the others that came before. It feels hungrier, and much more
demanding. I want to like it, but I’m more confused than anything else. Where
is this coming from?

A horrifying
scream tears us apart, alerting all of my senses. We run toward the terrifying
sounds and peer out at Brent who hangs from the rope, dangling and screaming.

“Help!”
He shouts in panic.

I
look down and see it. The black snake from earlier is standing tall out of the
water, hissing angrily at Brent, as if he hasn’t had a meal in days, but that’s
confusing, because snakes don’t eat people—they attack and poison them
with their venom when threatened.

Instinctively,
I grab my amethyst stone and squeeze.
Let
him go
, I demand. My command does nothing to control the snake this time,
so I try again with more force.
Let him
go now.
Nothing.

I
think quickly and tear through the bushes to the bottom of the tree and climb.

“Kat,
what are you doing?” Alec is calling after me and I can hear his footsteps
following.

I
ignore him and climb the tree faster than I should allow myself, but I don’t care.
I have to reach the rope. Just as I reach the hunk of branch where the rope is
connected, my foot slips. The screams behind me are muted by my own thoughts
and actions. I see Alec coming to my rescue but I have no time to waste. With a
loud groan and one swift kick of my legs, I’m able to pull myself up and regain
my balance.

I
lay down on the branch, hugging it with my legs and body to steady me. I force
myself to remain calm and reach for the rope with both hands. “Hang on Brent,”
I say through gritted teeth.

I
pull, feeling the heaviness of the rope with Brent’s weight attached, but it
doesn’t bother me. I’m strong enough to pull him up. Alec moves close to me and
reaches for the rope behind me, helping to pull the weight of Brent’s body up
higher until he’s close enough to the branch to grab it.

Alec
takes over, probably assuming that I’m too weak to lift Brent onto the tree
completely, so I let him, for fear that I’ve already revealed too much. I
collapse against the branch, energy exhausted.

Below
me, the snake makes a loud hissing noise, obviously angry from another meal
lost. I glare at him.
Shut your mouth snake.
Go back to where you came from.
The snake sinks into the water but the
spring is so clear I can see every movement it makes as it slithers toward the
shore where my friends tend to Brent.

Adrenaline
sets in as I spy a medium-sized branch near me. In one swift arm motion, I snap
the branch from the tree and aim its jagged edge downward at full force until
it drives through the head of the snake, pinning it into the ground.

I
barely make out the cheers and gasps of awe from my friends who are now calling
me a ninja snake warrior. What was that? It’s almost as if the snake was a
bounty hunter, eager to attack one of my friends—or me.

Something
clicks in my mind. “
No
,” I whisper
into the wind. Rose said the Equinox’s true form was that of a serpent. Why
would he be out here in Weeki Wachee? And didn’t she say that Erebus had rims
of gold on his scales? This snake was purely black, but if that wasn’t Erebus,
then who was it?